Thill-coupling



(No M del.)

A. ST JOHN.

THILL COUPLING Patented Oct. 15, 1889.

No.412 6s UNITED STATES PATENT rricn.

' ALONZO ST. JOHN, OF LOYVVILLE, NEYV YORK.

THlLL-COU PLlNG.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 412,863, dated October15, 1889.

Application filed August 10, 1889 Serial No. 320,385. (No model.)

1'0 aZZ whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, ALONZO ST. JOHN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Low ville, in the county of Lewis and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Thill-Couplings;and I do declare the following to he a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawin gs, and to the letters and figures ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements incombined thill-couplings and anti-rattlers; and it has for its object toimprove upon the, construction, and to cheapen and render more eflicientin operation this class of devices.

To these ends, and to such others as the in vention may pertain, thesame consists in the peculiar combinations and in the novel c011-struction, arrangement, and adaptation of parts, all as more fullyhereinafter described, shown in the accompanying drawings, and thenspecifically defined in the appended claims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings,which, with the letters of reference marked thereon, form a part of thisspecification, like letters of reference indicating like partsthroughout the several views, and in which drawings- Figure 1 is aperspective View of a combined thillcoupler and antirattler constructedin accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a central vertical sectionthrough the same; and Fig. 3 is a perspective View, in which the partsare shown as detached, but in their relative positions.

Reference now being had to the details of the drawings by letter, Adesignates the axle, B the coupling, and C the thill. The body of thecoupling consists of a metallic casting B the rear portion of which(shown at B is extended rearwardly beneath the axle, and is securedthereto by means of a clip D, which clip embraces the axle, and its freeends are passed through the extension 13 and are secured in place bymeans of nuts D upon the under face of the extension. The upper facewire bent at its center to form the loop E,

from which central point the wire is bent to form the horizontal portiona, said portion being of such width and length as to adapt it to befitted within the groove as shown. At the point at which the groove Bcommu nicates with the central chamber B of the casting the wires arebent downwardly at right angles to the portion 0, thus forming thevertical portions 0', which extend to a point near the bottom of thechamber B and from this point the wires are again bent at right anglesand extend horizontally to a point a short distance beyond the openfront end of the chamber, where they are bent to form the coils b, afterforming which. coils the free ends of the wires are extended rearwardlyand terminate in a slightly-upward curve within the interior of thechamber B, where they are soldered or otherwise secured to the underface of the curved metallic wearing-plate c. The rounded rear end of thethill iron F is loosely sleeved upon a transverse shaft cr pin F, theprojecting ends of which pin are cut away to form the squared trunnionsF which trunnions are adapted to be received within the recesses Fformed in the sides of the chamber 13*.

It will be seen that when in position within the chamber B the roundedend of the thill will rest within the curved wearing-plate c, and thatsaid wearing-plate is forced upwardly against the thill by the tensionof the wire to which it is attached.

G is a plate fitted over the enlarged portion of the casting B, saidcasting being provided with a central opening for the reception of theend of the thill, the rear end of said opening being providedwithextensions or slots 6 corresponding with similar slots 6, formed in therear of the chamber B of the casting, as shown.

H is a heavy spring-wire bent at its center to form a loop h, from whichcentral point the wire is bent so as to form the horizontal portion, ofsuch a length and width as will permit it to be fitted Within the grooveB At the point at which the said wire enters the chamber B the wires arebent outwardly at right angles to the portions described, and are againbent upwardly, forming the vertical portions, which are adapted to enterthe slots e in the plate G, the free ends of the Wire being extended ashort distance above the top of the plate, as shown at h.

It will be seen that both the wire constituting the tension device oranti-rattler and the wire H are secured in place by means of theclip-iron, which is extended vertically through the central loops insaid wires.

The operation of the device is simple, and will be readily understood.The plate G is retained in place bymeans of the Wire II, the free endsof which engage the recesses in the rear of the plate, as described, andare retained therein by the tension of the spring. When it is desired touncouple the thill, the upwardly-extei'lded free ends of the wire H areforced inwardly so as to disengage the same from the slots in the plate,when the said plate may be removed and the thill lifted from its seatwithin the chamber.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim to be new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with a vehicle axle an d thill, of a chamberedcasting secured to the axle by means of a clip, a wire of spring metalretained within the chamber by the engagement of one of the arms of theclip-iron with a central loop in the wire, the coils 6, formed in thewire at the front end of the chambered casting, the wearingplate securedto the free ends of the wire adjacent to the loops, the cap-plate G,fitted over the enlarged portion of the casting and provided withcentralapertures and recesses, as described, and the wire H, having a centralloop to engage one of the vertical arms of the clip-iron within thechamber within the casting, and having its free ends bent upwardly andengaging the recesses in the cap-plate, substantially asshown anddescribed.

2. The combination, with the axle and the thill, of the chamberedcasting, and a wire spring formed at its end with a seat for the thilland formed with a coil Z7 at the front end of the casting, substantiallyas and for the purpose specified.

3. The combination, with the axle and the thill, of the chamberedcasting, the wire spring having a loop, a coil (2, and a seat for thethill, and the clip-iron having one leg passed through the loop of thespring, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALONZO ST. JOHN. 'Wi tncsses:

HERBERT S. MORSE, GEORGE O. J EFFERS.

